“The Self is indeed more than the sum of your parts. It’s also in everyone, although it needs a certain amount of hardware (i.e., brain capacity) to operate fully. Young children can’t fully access Self, although they can embody enough Self to heal themselves emotionally—a process witnessed and described by many IFS child therapists. Children don’t have the brain power to fully protect themselves in the world, regardless of how much their parts might allow them to be Self-led. And this is partly why your parts lost trust in your Self’s leadership when you were hurt as a young child—you couldn’t protect them at the time, and they think they have to take over.”